Mail-catcher.



1. A. STARR. MAIL CATCHER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPTJB. 916- ATTO R N EY wr nanms Pneus zo.. Pnnmuma.. wnsnmsmn. n. c.

J. A. STARR. MAIL CATCHER. APPLICATION mso sEPT.1, 191e.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

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J. A. STARR.

MAIL CATCHER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPI. Ia, I9Is.

Patented M3112?, 1917.

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WITNESSES W ZL. 50%?,

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JOHN A. STARR, 0F KNOWLES, 'WISOONSILL MAIL-CATCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

Application led September 18, 1916. Serial N o. 120,797.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. STARR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Knowles, in the county of Dodgeand State of lVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Catchers, ot' which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to an improved mail catcher and the principal object of thc invention is to provide a mail catcher having an improved type of sack engaging arm mounted upon a standard and swinging out of an operative sack, the arm being provided with improved sack engaging means and being also provided with improved means for completing the swing of the arm after the sack is engaged and carrying the arm to the inoperative position where 1t will be releasably held.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide means whereby the movablejaw of the sack engaging arm may be locked in a closed position after the sack is engaged by the head or stationary jaw of the arm.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved actuating means for the movable jaw so that this movable jaw may be swung to a closed position as 'the arm swings toward an inoperative position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved device for connecting a spring with the swinging arm, the opposite end of the spring being connected with the post or standard carrying the means for releasably locking the arm in an inoperative position.

Another object of the invention is to so construct this device that the swinging arm or crane may beV mounted beneath means for holding a sack to be delivered to a train.

.Another object of the invention is to so construct this arm and to so mount the same that it may be used for removing sacks from a car moving in either direction upon a track thus permitting the device to be used in connection with single track lines as well as double tracks.

This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a view showing the improved mail catcher in side elevation, the car walls' being broken away to' show the manner of position after engaging a i the posts 11 andr12 the lower constructing and mounting the sack holder carried by the train,

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, the structure shown therein being enlarged,

Fig., 4- is a fragmentary sectional view taken along theline 4 4: of Fig. 1

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the free end portion of the swinging arm, the dotted lines indicating the movement of the movable jaw carried thereby,

Fig. 6 is a view in elevation of the sack holding device carried by the car,

Fig. 7 is a view in elevation of the upper portion of the standard which engages the swinging arm when in an operative position, and

'Fig 8 is a view in elevation of the upper portion of the standard which engages the swinging arm when in an inoperative position.

The main Vstandard 10V is mounted between and is of greater height than the posts so that it may support the sack holder, which sack holder comprises arm 13 and pivotally mounted upper arm 14, which upper arm is carried by the upright 15 from which extends a bar 16 mounted upon the post 10 above the arm 13. Hooks 17 are provided so that the sack to be delivered to the train may be supported in a position for a suitable engaging device carried by the train 18. This sack holder is preferably rotatably mounted upon the upper portion of this main standard 10 so that it may be swung to a convenient position for connecting the sack and then swung back to the operative position shown in Fig. 1.

Upon the standard 10, there is mounted a collar 19 upon which there is' formed a cam 20 having anotch or pocket 21 formed therein and extending only partially around the collar thus leaving a cutout providing a second pocket 22.V The swinging arm or crane indicated in generalV by the numeral 23 is provided with 24 and 25 through which the standard l0 passes to rotatably mount the swinging yarm upon this standard. The free end portions upper and lowerv leaves of these leaves are connected by the bolt or other fastener' 26 which passes through openings formed in the extensions 27 and thus serve to hold the leaves in engagement with the upper and lower ends of the collar 19. A drum 28 is rotatably mounted between these upper and lower leaves by means of the pin 29 which passes through its hub or sleeve 30, the drum being positioned beneath the cam 20 and 'the upper portion of the hub carrying a finger 31 which will fit into the pockets 21 and 22 and which will serve to give the drum a partial rotation through engagement with the edge of the cam as the crane arm swings about the standard 10.

The movablejaws 32 and 33'which eX- tend from the drum 34 extend in operative relation to the stationary jaws 35 and 36 at the free end of the crane 23, the drum 34 being positioned between the upper and lower leaves or" this crane and rotatably mounted by means of a pin 37 upon the upper portion of which there is mounted a locking collar 38 having notches 39 and 40 formed therein to receive the latching pin 41. This latching pin 41 has its outer end slidably mounted in the guide 42 and has its inner end portion fitting into the spring 43 which spring is engaged by the abutment 44 of the latching lever 45 when the latching lever is swung downwardly. It will thus be seen that when this latching lever is swung downwardly so that the staple 46 passes through the eye 47 and the lock 48 is put in place, the spring will be compressed and when the drum 34 is rotated, the latching pin will be forced into one of the notches 39 or 40. This latching lever is provided with a pivot arm 49 pivotally connected with the ing through the opening in the upper leaf in front of the abutment plate 50. A spring 51 is connected with lthe drum 28 and with the hook 52 leading from the pivot arm 49 and it will thus be seen that this latching lever 45 will be yieldably held in the raised position shown in Fig. 1, but that it may be moved to the locking position when desired. Lines or cables 53 and 54 are passed about the drums 28 and 34 and are kconnectedwith the springs 55 so that they will be held in tight engagement with the drums. Therefore when the crane arm is a swung from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 to that shown in dotted lines, the drum 28 will be rotated and through the medium of the cable and spring, which could be termed a driving belt and indicated in general by the numeral 56, the drum 34 will be rotated and one of its arms or movable jaws brought into operative engagement with its stationary jaw as indicated by dotted'lines in Fig. 5. When lthis happens,'if the latching lever is secured in the lower leaf 23 and extend-v lowered position, the latch will engage the drum and hold the movable jaw in the closed position until the lock 48 is removed and the latching lever permitted to return to its normal position.

The mail sack 57 which is to be delivered from the mail car 18 is suspended between the carrying arms 58 of the train device and is provided with an eye 59 for engagement by one of the stationary jaws of the swinging crane. These arms 58 are rotatably mounted in the upper and lower arms orv sleeves 60 of the frame 61 and are provided with handles 62 engaged by the springs 63 which springs are connected with the actuating lever 64. The frame is pivotally mounted by means of the hinge ear 65 to the bearing G6 carried by the wall of the mail car and it will thus be seen that the sack can be put in place within the car and the lever then swung to hold the arms 58 in the proper position to support the saclr and the carrier then swung so that the arms 58 will extend as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with the sack outside the car. When engaged by the station device, the free end portions of the arms 58 can be moved toward each other thus permitting the sack to be removed. The train device would then be swung back into thc car and a new sack could be put in place.

Vhen a train is approaching a station, the station master will connect a sack to be delivered with the sack holding device shown in Fig. 1 and the crane 23 will be swung to the operative position with the lower leaf Vresting upon the post 11 between the catches 67. These catches 67 are pivotally mounted and have their handles 68 connected by the spring G8 so that they will be yieldably held in the position shown in Fig. 7. These catches will prevent the crane from accidentally moving out of the proper position but will permit the crane to swing toward the dotted line position when a blow is received in removing the sack from the train device. A spring 69 is connected with the post 12 and with the hoop 70 positioned about the standard 10 and provided with a linger 71 which engages the pin 72 extending beneath the lower leaf of the crane 23. This spring 69 serves to draw the crane when swung out of engagement with the post 11 by the blow received in removing the sack and carries the craneI toward the dotted line position where it will rest upon the post 12 between the catches 73 pivotally mounted as shown in Fig. 8 and having their handles 74 connected by the springs 7 5. As previously explained, the movable aw will be swung to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 5, as the crane swings from the operative to the inoperative position and if the latch is under tension of the spring 43, the sack will be held against removal until the lock 48`is removed. The catches 73 have 'a more positive engagement with the crane arm and therefore the crane arm will be positively held against movement unless one of the catches is swung to an inoperative position. When in the inoperative position, the post 10 is positioned in one of the pockets 75 of the hoop 'T0 and therefore care should be taken to swing the crane in the proper direction when returning it to the operative position, so that the finger 7l will be engaged by the pin 72.' Of course, if the latch mechanism is not set, thc movable jaw will return to the open position as soon as the linger 3l reaches the pocket 22 and the mail sack will then be immediately removed from the crane by thestation master.

What is claimed is l. A mail handling device including a station device comprising a standard, al

catching crane rotatably mounted upon said standard, and having upper and lower leaves and vhaving its free end portion provided with stationary jaws, a movable aw including a drum rotatably mounted between the upper and lower leaves and having arms eX- tending therefrom, an actuating drum rotatably mounted between the inner end portions of said leaves and provided with a. hub having a nger extending therefrom, a cam carried by said standard and engaged by said finger for rotating the actuating drum as the crane swings upon the standard, means for transmitting rotary movement from said actuating drum to the drum of the movable j aw.

2. A mail handling apparatus including a station device comprising a standard, a crane rotatably mounted upon said standard and provided with a stationary jaw at its outer end, a movable jaw pivotally connected with said crane in operative relation to the stationary jaw, actuating means for the movable jaw rotatably connected with said crane and having operative connection with the movable jaw, and means for actuating the operating means from said standard as the crane swings upon the standard.

3. A mail handling device including a station device comprising a standard, a crane rotatably mounted upon said standard and provided with a stationary jaw, a movable jaw carried by said crane in operative relation to the stationary jaw thereof, and actuating means for the movable jaw carried by said crane and having operative connection with the standard whereby the actuating means will be moved to actuate the movable jaw as the crane swings about said standart.

4. A mail handling apparatus including a station device comprising a standard, a crane rotatably mounted upon said standard, and having a stationary jaw, a movable jaw connected with said crane, actuating close said movable means for the movable jaw carried by said crane, means extending from said standard for engaging the operating means to move the same as the crane swings about the standard, a latch for releasably holding the movable jaw in a closed position and includ-l ing an actuating lever, and resilient means connecting operating means of the movable jaw, whereby said resilient means will be placed under tension when the operating means moves to Jaw.

5. A mail handling apparatus including a station device comprising a standard, a crane rotatably mounted upon said standard and provided with a stationary jaw, a movable jaw carried by said crane, a cam carried by said standard, operating means for said movable jaw including a drum rotatably connected with the crane and provided with a finger having operative engagement with said cam, a latch slidably mounted and engaged by a spring, nected with the crane and compressing the spring when the lever is moved to an operative position, and a spring connecting said latch lever with the drum of the operating means whereby the last mentioned spring will be placed under tension as the crane swings about said standard and the drum rotates to move the movable jaw to a closed position.

6. A mail handling apparatus including a station device comprising Va standard, a crane rotatably mounted upon the standard, a movable jaw carried by said crane, a latch lever pivotally connected with said crane, a latching disk connected with the movable j aw and rotating with the same, a latch pin having operative connection with said latching lever and moving into a position for engagement with the latching disk when the latching lever is moved to an operative position, means for yieldably holding the latch lever in an inoperative position, and operating means for the movable jaw carried by said crane and having operative engagement said actuating lever with the' a lever pivotally conwith the standard whereby the operating means for the movable jaw will be moved as the crane rotates about the standard.

7. A mail handling apparatus including a station device comprising a standard, a crane rotatably mounted upon the standard, a. pin extending beneath the crane, a hook loosely Vmounted about the standard and provided with a finger engaging said pin, a support mounted adjacent said standard, latching means carried by said support, resilient means connecting said hook with said support for swinging the crane about the standard and moving the same into position for engagement by the latching means of said support after a mail bag has been received from a train, and sack engaging means carried by said crane.

8. A mail handling apparatus including a station device comprising a standard, a crane rotatably mounted upon said standard, a movable jaw connected with said crane, actuating means for moving the movable jaw into and out of an operative position, including a drum rotatably connected With said crane, a inger extending from said drum, and a cam carried by said standard and engaging said iinger for rotating the drum and moving the movable jaw into and out of an operative position as the crane swings about the standard.

9. A mail handling apparatus including a track device comprising a standard, a crane rotatably mounted upon said standard, a support positioned adjacent said standard and provided With latching means for releasably holding the crane inl an operative position, catching means carried by said crane and moved into and out of an opera- Copes of this patent may be obtained for 'an operative position,

tive position as the crane swings about the standard, a second support positioned adjacent the standard, and latching means carried by the second support for engaging the crane to releasably hold the same in an inoperative position, ater removing a sack from a train. p

10. A vmail handling apparatus including a track device comprising a standard, a crane rotatably mounted upon the standard, sack engaging means carried by said crane, means for releasably holding the crane kin means for releasably holding the crane in an inoperative position after receiving a sack from a train, and means for moving the crane from the operative position to the inoperative after receiving a sack from a train.

In testimony whereof I aiX my signature in presence of two Witneses.

HN A. STARR.

five cents-each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

